'nonviolence'... the saga continues
Graeme Bacque (gbacque@idirect.com)
Wed, 08 Dec 1999 03:40:08 -0500
I've been certainly getting some interesting responses to my earlier
message on this subject and I appreciate the fact that respondents haven't
been getting defensive on the subject, even those who have criticized my
point of view.
the main issue for me has always been the apparent expectation that people
remain passive in the face of sometimes horrific abuse (in this case coming
form the state). For someone who may have grown up experiencing a similar
climate (this applies to me, and I'm sure quite a few others who
participate in events of this kind) it can be incredibly difficult to
withstand such behavior without wanting to act in a very concrete way to
stop it happening.
One of the most significant aspects of growing up in an abusive environment
is the overwhelming sense of personal helplessness that accompanies the
situation. This is something that movements for change - especially those
which seek to deliberately enter dangerous situations - need to be giving
much more consideration to. for example, there is nothing empowering about
it for me to enter a situation of that kind, where it is expected of me to
adopt the same kind of physical helplessness that was enforced upon me as a
child. (Anyone else here who identifies?)
There needs to be some kind of analysis (and ultimately strategies)
developed which take this into account. To my mind the whole philosophy of
'nonviolence' (which does include many references - direct and indirect -
to martyrdom) fails to address the needs of those who have previously
survived abuse. Heck, even looking at the online photos from Seattle - or
reading some of the eyewitness accounts - left every nerve in my body
raw... I can only imagine how it was for those who were actually at the
epicenter!
In other words, how can we best take on the task of challenging state
violence in a concrete manner that doesn't require that people be further
traumatized, and left without recourse to measures that would minimize the
damage? (Other than simply not participating - which I don't view as being
an option).
--
Graeme
ICQ #53515294
<http://webhome.idirect.com/~gbacque/gbacque.html>
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Lock 'em up and throw away the key, boys,
the Joneses are not like you or me,
Lock 'em up tight, 'cause if they had the chance they might
show us that we're wrong and that's the one thing we can't be..........."
--Spirit Of The West, from their album 'Save This House'